Arabella's POV

Vivindale, Florida was as bland as I remembered it to be. The palm trees swayed in the sweet, salty breeze coming off the ocean and the sun beat down against the concrete as if it had a silent vendetta. Dark, unearthly waves rolled and thundered against each other, colliding with the early yellowed horizon.

The sleek, black limo crept along the vacant streets like a hungry panther hunting it's prey. Only the sound of the waves crashing against the sandy shores and the whining of the wind helped to fill the silent void.

A loud, bellowing screech overwhelms the silence as the limo lurches to an abrupt halt and the cherry colored Blackberry tumbles from my loose grip. A shocked gasp escapes me and I quickly look up, meeting the apologetic gaze of the driver in the rearview mirror. A frustrated expression clouds my face and I lean back in my seat, adjusting the seatbelt angrily.

"That was enough to cost you a tip!" I grumble, bending down to pluck my Blackberry off the floor, rubbing the screen against my black pencil skirt to clean it. With one more dirty look at the driver, I roll my eyes and huff loudly, leaning back as the limo begins its crawl again.

I stare down at my screen, scrolling through a series of emails from my employers; biting my lip to suppress an aggravated sigh. Every email contained information about my new assignment; an in depth evaluation of Carter Hollow Academy and all of its students and staff.

For some inexplicable reason, my uncle was sending me half way around the globe to spend an entire year on campus to "evaluate and ensure the school's productivity". It was absolutely ridiculous.

Huge wrought-iron gates come into view up ahead and the sprawling campus of Carter Hollow Academy spreads out before me. Lush green grass and a gorgeous array of flowers are scattered about the lawn, accentuating the school's old fashioned features.

A beautifully crafted stone fountain sat in the center of the front lawn, baby angels stood on a platform blowing water from their mouths. The fountain was rather unnerving but had been apart of the school since its early years, no one dared remove it. Soaring stone pillars and a wide, intimidating front door greet me at the front gates.

The driver speaks at an intercom propped up near the gates and a loud squeal erupts from the rusty old hinges as the gates swing open. The limo pulls up around the fountain and comes to a stop before the door. I sigh and glance upward, allowing my gaze to follow the pillars up to the roof where two gargoyles kept watch.

I un-click my seatbelt as the driver opens my door. Putting my Blackberry in my Coach purse, I step out of the limo onto an uneven cobblestone sidewalk. The pointed ends of my heels fall between the cracks and I almost lose my balance. With a grudging huff, I pull myself up and stumble toward the concrete steps, refusing to fall flat on my face.

The large doors open and three figures emerge from the soaring building full of long forgotten memories. It was strikingly strange, all three people had brown hair and brown eyes and, had I not known better, I would've thought I was seeing doubles.

"Arabella! Welcome back!" A loud voice rumbles, his mouth crinkling with his smile. I force one of my own and reach my hand out toward him.

"Adam, good to see you again. I see you never left high school." A small smirk tugs at half of his mouth as he grasps my hand firmly.

"Wasn't that the plan?" He challenges, a glimmer in his chocolate brown eyes. Instead of offering any response, I turn my attention to the two women standing at his back. One wore a carefully guarded expression while the other looked rather unnerved at the idea of interacting with me.

"And you are?" I ask, directing my question toward the one with no emotion. She raises one eyebrow and steps forward, holding out her hand to me.

"Jane Rundolf, Vice Principal, it's nice to meet you Miss Blackwell." I shake her hand, slightly surprised by the coolness of her fingers.

"Please, call me Arabella." Jane nods, offering the tiniest of smiles, and retracts her hand much to my relief. My gaze swings toward the visibly cowering figure, a look of disinterest hiding my amusement. She stumbles forward, tripping over her own feet and thrusts her hand out to me.

"Hello, I'm Gabby." She mutters, "Caperealla. Gabby Caperealla. It's great to meet you." Gabby flushes a crimson red, probably because of her terrifyingly informal behavior.

"Arabella, the pleasure's mine." I say, taking her hand and instantly feeling my heart stutter. It was sweaty.

"Well!" I cheer, retracting my hand to discreetly wipe it along my skirt and turn toward Adam. "I'm here to do a job, not stand around and chit chat. So, by all means, lead the way." I gesture toward the hallway and raise a waiting eyebrow at him.

"Right, yes. Your bags though, are you staying on campus?" A tiny gag works its way up my throat and I jerk back, eyes widening to the size of saucers.

"Me? Stay here?" A bubbling laugh escapes me. "I spent four years locked away inside those stone walls and that was more than enough for me. No, I have a house down on the beach." Adam nods and steps through the doors, his entourage following close behind.

"Has the school year begun yet?" I wonder, pulling my phone from my purse and sending my boss a quick update.

"No, not yet but Orientation is this afternoon and students will start arriving in an hour. Classes begin tomorrow." I nod, typing a note in on my phone.

"I think I'll come along to Orientation, if you don't mind." Adam glances over his shoulder, a funny expression on his face.

"Of course! In fact, I'd like you to make a short speech." I frown, losing all interest in my phone to gape at him.

"What? Why on earth would you want that?" Adam shrugs and takes a sharp left turn.

"You'll be staying here all year, I think you should acquaint yourself with our students."

"I know the students enough to know that they act just like we did in high school, and frankly, I didn't like teenagers then and I don't now."

"I see you haven't changed then." Adam grumbles bitterly, I narrow my eyes at his back.

"I could say the same for you." I snap, a bit of my short temper peaking out through my calm demeanor. A tense silence falls over us and Gabby glances sharply between Adam and I before pointing to the left where a beautifully decorated office was left open and on display.

"I'll just be..." She starts, taking measured steps away from us until her office door clicks shut.

"Would you like to see the campus? I believe there have been some major changes since you attended." Jane cuts in, breaking my heated gaze away from Adam's stare. I blink, pulling myself free of my daze and straightening my jacket.

"I imagine I don't have a choice." Jane nods, clasping her hands before her and risking a glance at her superior, who was still glaring at me.

"I'll leave you to it then, but please be in the theater at noon and not a moment later." He gripes, turning on his heel and striding down the hall without a backward glance. I roll my eyes and return my attention to my phone, completely ignoring Jane's presence. A throaty gurgle distracts me from checking Facebook and I glance upward at Jane, who was watching me with a thinly veiled scowl.

"Ready?" I bite my lip, glancing between my phone and Jane and slump forward slightly with defeat. Tucking the phone away, I sigh heavily and gesture for her to lead the way.

As it turns out, Carter Hollow was much more modern since I'd attended. They'd added a computer lab, built on a science wing, reconstructed the gymnasium, planted synthetic grass on the football, soccer, and lacrosse fields, and added on a swimming pool, tennis court, and volleyball pitch. Their academic records had sky rocketed and ninety percent of their students continued on to Ivy League colleges.

By the time Jane's mouth had stopped running, a line of expensive cars were lined up around the fountain. Students and their families mulled around the campus, lugging suitcases and boxes behind them toward the girls' and boys' dorms on opposite ends of the campus. The scene closely resembled that of when I'd been a student here, most parents couldn't wait to ditch their kids and get back to their important, socialite lives.

Subconsciously, I reach for the Blackberry buried deep in my pocket and clench my jaw, flashes of a young child and man flittering around in my mind. A tightness spreads throughout my chest and I jerk, forcing air into my lungs and shoving my past deep into the recesses of my mind.

Around noon, a conglomeration of all four grades were spread out throughout the theater. Jane, Adam, and I stood backstage, watching the last few students trickle in through the doors and take their seats. Adam was still dead set on making me give a speech and I didn't see any way of getting out of it before he forced me onto the stage.

"Okay, I'm going to start." Adam announces and steps out from behind the curtain and into a series of bright lights aimed at the stage. He steps up behind a pedestal and taps on the microphone. A loud crackling resonates through the room and every whisper dies almost instantly as a thousand sets of eyes turn their attention to the stage. Adam clears his throat and rests his hands on the pedestal, an illuminated smile on his face.

"Welcome to the Carter Hollow Academy and a new year of learning! Welcome to the new and to the old students, welcome back! I am Adam Bennett and I am your principal for this year. Students, please help the new people around and new people, please work hard. If there are any concerns related to clubs, learning, sports, or other things then please come by my office and tell me, I am here to help. So let the year begin and grow!" (credit goes to THGF1234 for the speech). He praises, pausing for a moment for the forced applause to end.

"Also, I'd like to introduce Arabella Blackwell. She'll be evaluating our campus and student progress this year." He glances over at me and I throw him one more dirty look before masquerading my face behind a beautifully white toothed grin.

I step toward the pedestal and clear my throat, grasping ahold of the metal frame. "Welcome students to Carter Hollow Academy, I'm happy to be here with you and I look forward to watching you all grow over the course of this year. I hope that you can all leave this school with the same level of appreciation for it that I did. Have a great year!" I finish and step away from the pedestal, hurrying off the stage and shoving my shoulder into Adam.

"I hate you sometimes." I growl, his lip twitches with amusement as he moves out of my way.

"You just hate that I push you out of your comfort zone." I scowl and stalk off, grumbling bitterly under my breath.

Later that afternoon, more than half of the student body was settled in and lounging under trees spread out around campus. I was stuck following behind Adam as he gave some overbearing parents a tour of our campus and assured them that Carter Hollow, despite being one of the most prestigious academies in Florida, was also safe and offered no threat to their child's well being.

Clearly, this was the first time they were sending their little angel away for school and they didn't understand that acting like a hovercraft in their child's life would only push them away in the future. Every robotic word spilling from Adam's mouth made me wish I were dead. I turn my head away from the couple and Adam, focusing on a gargoyle positioned at the entrance to the library. Everything around here was crumbling stone and old, funny looking statues. I was starting to remember why I worked so hard to get kicked out, and, if I wasn't a direct descendent of Carter Sparrow, it would've worked. I sigh, returning my attention the Adam when a loud, earth shattering shriek tears claw-like streaks through my eardrums.

The scream comes again and Adam glances sharply at the couple and then me before muttering a quick apology and sprinting off toward the shrieks. The couple turns to me, a wide-eyed expression clouding their features.

"What's happening?" The mother wonders, gripping her husband's hand tightly. I blink and force a smile, despite the continual shrieks erupt from somewhere on campus.

"I'll take a guess and say someone collapsed from dehydration. It's incredibly hot today, there's no need to worry. Why don't we head back to the front office?" I ask, taking control of the situation and guiding it back toward normalcy. The couple bobs their heads and stumbles along behind me as I stride quickly across campus.

The front office was in an uproar, students wailed on the front steps and teachers rushed around, trying to calm everyone down. A sense of unease rips through me, something was very wrong. I clear my throat and turn toward the couple, who were watching the wailing students with horror stricken expressions.

"Why don't we go inside and figure out what's going on?" I question, desperate to get them away from the scene unfolding before them. They didn't need to see this. The couple ignores me, their worried eyes scanning the crowd.

"Mom!" A girl screeches, running toward us at top speed. Tear streaks ran down her cheeks and her entire body shook fearfully. She slams into her father's arms and buries her face in his chest. I take a step forward, anxiety and confusion finally tearing my calm façade to pieces.

"He's dead!" The girl cries and every inch of my body freezes.

"I'm sorry Arabella, he's dead. We did everything we could." Doctor Winston whispers, a choked sob escapes me and my legs fall out from under me. I tumble to the hospital floor with a thud, curling myself into a tight ball as shock overwhelms me.

He was dead. Gone forever. Both of them were.

"No, no! Try harder! It's not fair!" I shout, drawing the eye of every person in the emergency waiting room. Doctor Winston bends down beside and grasps ahold of my hands, tugging me neglectfully to my feet and guiding me over toward a chair in the corner of the room.

Dead. Gavin. Taylor. Dead.

"Arabella, I'm so sorry." Doctor Winston murmurs, his voice cracking. An uncontrollable shaking wracks my body and I clench my fists around my legs, hugging them to my chest.

"It's not fair! They were innocents!" I scream, remembering the way I'd come home to find them sprawled out on the living room floor with their skulls cracked open and stab wounds peppering their chests.

A terrifying resolve comes over me, driving the sorrow away and replacing it with an overwhelming anger. Someone broke into my life and took everything from me. Someone murdered the two people that mattered most to me. And I'd be damned if I didn't find them and make them pay.

I gasp, the horrific flashback receding into the depths of my mind where it belonged. I lunge forward and wrap my hand around the crying girl's upper arm, a new sense of desperation tearing my sanity apart. She gasps as my nails bite into her skin.

"Who died?" I ask, barely containing my desperation. The girl looks at me with wide, terrified eyes and sniffles. Her lower lip quivers as her eyes travel toward a spot of grass hidden behind a clustering of trees where yellow tape warns people to stay away.

"My boyfriend. Nicholi Trevino." She gasps, a sob getting stuck in her throat. I clench my jaw and release her, glancing up at her parents.

"I'd take her out of school." I comment, turning my back and striding toward the yellow tape. Adam stood on the edge of the crime scene, his head bent, his hands tucked under his arms, and a grim expression on his face. I touch his arm, turning his attention away from the sheet draped over a lump on the ground.

"Adam, what the hell happened?" The principal turns to me, a haggard look on his face as he stares, not at me, but through me. I snap my fingers in front of his face and tilt my head, shaking his arm. "Adam." He blinks but doesn't stir, I huff and allow my anxiety to get the better of me. Cooing and cuddling never gets the job done.

The palm of my manicured hand turns the pale white skin on Adam's cheek a brilliant red. He hisses through his teeth and lifts one hand to access the damage before turning fiery eyes on me. "The hell Arabella!" He growls, a furious expression overtaking his features.

"What happened?" I snap, ignoring his personal issues to address the nightmare before us. Adam clenches his jaw and glances backward at the body bag before sighing heavily.

"I have no idea, this has never happened before."

"Was he murdered or was it an accident?" I ask, my mind tugging me in an array of different directions. I'd spent months hunting down a killer and examining every aspect of the crime, and suddenly, I was so very thankful for those dark days.

"I don't know, Cordelia found him."

"The girlfriend, right? She's already given her statement?" I question, peaking over at the medical team and police officers scattered around the crime scene and the campus. Police sirens pepper the air and drive me a bit insane, I'd heard too many in my lifetime.

"Yes, she said they were climbing the tree here and she left for a few minutes to welcome her friend back on campus. When she got back he was lying on the ground, dead. It looked like he'd fallen."

"What do you think?" Adam shrugs and runs one hand through his hair.

"I don't know, it seems probable that it was an accident but if it's not...that means we have a murderer on campus. And Arabella," Adam lowers his voice just a bit, "I don't know if Carter Hollow can survive that type of scandal. One of the most prestigious academies becoming a murder scene?" He sighs, taking a heavy breath. I nod and pull at my hair, twirling a piece of it around my finger.

"I know." Abruptly, my phone starts squealing, I dig the device from my pocket and glance wearily at the screen. "It's them." Adam's face looses all it's color. I clench my fist around my phone and bite my lip.

"I'm going to tell them exactly what they want to hear; that it was an accident and we're terribly apologetic for leaving our students unattended. I'll tell them it won't happen again and we intend to rectify the lack of supervision immediately." Adam nods, his jaw clenched tightly.

"Will that work? Will they believe you?" I shrug and press the answer button, holding my hand over the phone and lowering my voice.

"They'll have to, and Adam, when those medical records come back we'll make sure it says it was an accident or every form of hell will come down on this academy. And Carter Hollow is not shutting down under my watch." I whisper hurriedly, doubt clouds Adam's eyes for a split second before a cold wall of determination comes down over his features.

"Okay, now answer them." I let out a breath of hot air and lift the phone up to my ear.

"Hello?"

----------------------------

Hello! I got excited so I posted this a day early! Yay! The first murder! And now the first task! :D

For this task, you will be describing your arrival day. You're seeing the campus for the first time or maybe you're returning. How are you feeling? Are you excited or nervous for the school year to begin? Maybe you are friends with Cordelia or knew Nicholi. How do you feel about his sudden death? Accident or murder?

The three entries with the lowest votes will be murdered and then one murder scene will be chosen.

You have until May 11th.